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Worth Revisiting - Monday Musings Of A Lay Dominican

Thank you once again, Allison Gingras at Reconciled To You and Elizabeth Riordan at Theology Is A Verb for hosting Worth Revisitingeach week. It is a privilege to share our work with you and your followers.

Here is my contribution this week:

Monday Musings Of A Lay Dominican

(Originally published on July 22, 2019)

The Catholic Church exists for the salvation of souls. The charism of the Dominicans (the Order of Preachers) is "the salvation of souls by preaching, living and sharing God’s Truth" - all of it, even the more difficult ones. I am blessed to be both a Catholic and a Lay Dominican.

Let me hasten to offer this disclaimer: the ideas expressed in this post are my own.

Certainly, we must strive to be Christ-like in order to attract others to the Lord we love and seek to serve. And clearly, we must treat every person with dignity and respect and try to accompany them as they seek to learn and follow that Truth. And we must also acknowledge that we are all sinners in need of God's mercy.

But how do we save souls (others as well as our own) if we remain silent when some of our shepherds attempt to create ambiguity in Church doctrine where none had heretofore existed?

For example, it has always been the teaching of the Church that there are eternal consequences to those who have rejected God’s grace and die in the state of mortal sin unwilling to repent and seek forgiveness. How can any Catholic now accept the suggestion that “No one can be condemned forever because that is not the logic of the Gospel”?

It has always been undisputed Church teaching that it is a mortal sin to receive Holy Communion if you are a divorced and remarried Catholic who never sought or obtained annulment of one’s marriage. How can we support contrary assertions today?

One had always had to be a Catholic in the state of grace in order to receive our Lord in Holy Communion. Not so much today in some quarters of the Church where non-Catholics are being offered the Eucharist.

Another example: It has always been the teaching of the Catholic Church that a soul in mortal sin receives no spiritual benefit from receiving Holy Communion, but rather eternal condemnation if such conduct is left un-confessed. Why would we encourage others to commit such sinful acts?

The Church has always taught that we MUST strive with God’s grace to overcome our sinful behaviors and that with His grace all things are possible, including abandoning long-standing sinful acts. Even if we are never fully successful in overcoming our sinful behaviors, we are never exempt from trying to do so. How can we now teach that such a standard is too high and those who have been unsuccessful in striving to free themselves from entrenched sin, are no longer obligated to do so?

Where in Scripture, Tradition and the Teaching Magisterium has the Catholic Church ever taught that we may reasonably hope that all people will be saved?

Engaging in homosexual sexual acts or any sexual relationship outside of marriage precludes the reception of Communion. More than a handful in the Church are suggesting that this is or should no longer be the case.

How then can we remain silent when one of our brethren proclaims that "We cannot begin with the question of whether it (gay sexuality) is permitted or forbidden! We must ask what it means, and how far it is Eucharistic."

Finally, why are we so quick to adopt the recommendation of a popular author and speaker that we "become the best version of ourselves" instead of seeking to become "Christlike"?

Yes, we should strive to help all those who have separated themselves from God and His Church to reach a correct understanding of God’s Truth and expectations and most certainly God’s readiness to forgive and welcome such souls into full communion with His Church - but never at the expense of denying or watering down that Truth.

A final question: When will we end our silence, defend God's Truth and fraternally correct those who do not?

You do not have to wait another minute! The long-promised Volume 5 of Pondering Tidbits of Truth is now available in paperback. From the back cover: "There is so much noise in this world that we are not only having trouble hearing ourselves think, we rarely hear the voice of God. So many are the distractions and demands placed on our time, that we nary give God a thought. Many of us recognize this failure and long for a way to make time for Him. Countless others are unaware of the damage being done to their eternal souls by rarely if ever thinking of He Who created them. What can we do about this? We must, all of us, make time for God every day. But where to begin? Right now, promise your Creator that you will give Him five minutes of your time every day." How? Pick up your copy of Pondering Tidbits of Truth Volume 5 and begin each day reading and pondering one of its 100 quotations. Watch God work in your life. You can order your copy here.

"Silence in front of the Blessed Sacrament is one of the hardest yet most spiritually rewarding moments in a Catholic's spiritual development. Like a potter to the clay, allowing God to work in you and being comfortable not speaking, not interrupting, but allowing one's soul to conform to the will of God. That sounds easy, but it's really hard." (Shaun Kenny from "Silence In A Cluttered Age" published in the July 24, 2019 issue of The Wanderer)

The internet is filled with countless laments over the Pew
Research Center’s recent findings that only 26 per cent of Catholics under the age of 40 believe
that Jesus is really, truly and substantially present in the Eucharist. This is
not news.

This loss of belief in our Lord’s physical Presence among us
is long-standing. In fact, one of the primary reasons I began blogging in 2010
was to address this pressing concern by seeking to promote belief in, reverence
for, and awe and amazement of the Holy Eucharist and Eucharistic Adoration.

Unfortunately, far too many of our Bishops and priests,
whose duty it is to assure our Lord the reverence He deserves and to save souls,
have been reluctant to do so.

I have written much on this subject. If you are interested you
can read a sample of my prior posts here and here.

Thank you once again, Allison Gingras at Reconciled To You and Elizabeth Riordan at Theology Is A Verb for hosting Worth Revisitingeach week. It is a privilege to share our work with you and your followers.

Here is my contribution.

That More of Our Priests Would Heed This Fine Shepherd's Voice(Originally published on April 16, 2012)

Let me share the following excerpt from Father's article. In doing so, I ask everyone reading this entry today to pray that all of our priests will follow the good Archbishop's example and advice - knowing in my heart that if they did so their priesthood, our Church and our world would be so much different than they presently are.
"What exerted the grea…